There has been a lot of controversy over the tenure of the current Ag CJN Onnogen whose current tenure expires in a few days time.The president has refused to send his name to the senate for confirmation.There has been fears that he might cease to be the Ag CJN by Feb 15 when his current tenure expires.However section 231(5) of the 1999 constitution gave the NJC the powers to extend the tenure of the Ag CJN as it deems fit.

The relevant portions of the constitution as it regards the appointment of the CJN are stated below.

231. (1) The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

(2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the senate.

(3) A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria or a Justice of the Supreme Court, unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than fifteen years.

(4) If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.

(5) Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appointment a person whose appointment has lapsed


The implication of this phrase "Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment[/b]" is that the NJC can extend the tenure of the Ag CJN if the president fails to do the needful at the end of the stipulated three months Onnnogen would have been in acting capacity.

So my dear patriots.Attempts my enemies of democracy to pocket the judicial arm of government has failed once more as the 1999 constitution has circumverted the attempt by the executive to muscle the judiciary.Come February 15 2017,Justice Onnogen's tenure would be extended indefinitely by the NJC.So no cause for alarm

Simply put, the NJC can recommend to the president that Onnoghen should continue in acting capacity till the president finally decides to appoint a substantive CJN. The NJC alone cannot unilaterally extend the acting period of the CJN, the president still have to concur.

Going forward, pressure should be brought on the president to accept and forward the name of Onnoghen to the senate as substantive CJN based on NJC recommended. If the president has rejected the recommendation, he should come out clearly and tell us the reasons for the rejection. Whatever the case, he must never appoint a northerner as the next CJN.